"We're on garbage duty?!" Josh asked incredulously.

"Yes, and it's not 'garbage duty'. Think of it as cleaning up the community and environment around us." Tulisa put her hands on her hips.

Josh rolled his eyes. "Nerd."

"Tree killer."

"Geek."

"Smooth-brained."

"Dork."

"Imbecile."

"What does that mean?"

"You just proved my point."

Ruby laughed at their banter. Josh rolled his eyes and flipped them both off, with Ruby returning the gesture.

"Language." Ginger scolded. She was carrying five large garbage bags for each member of the team, with Olive following close behind. Ginger glanced around. "Where are Camilla and Levi?"

"Oh, Ms Diaz got them to work on posters because they're behind on their projects." Ruby explained.

"Lucky." Olive picked up a pair of gloves gingerly and pulled them on. "I heard Group 2 is going swimming."

Tulisa tilted her head to the side. "In April?"

Olive shrugged. "I dunno, I think they get wetsuits. It sounds awesome though, way better than picking up trash." They took a black bag from Ginger and shook it out.

"Who knows, maybe it'll be fun!" Tulisa, ever the optimist, chirped, cheerfully grabbing a trash bag and gloves and dancing around the forest.

Ruby had to admit, she did think it would be somewhat fun. The forests in Hurricane weren't the greatest. There used to be one a block away from her house, but it was torn down for construction. And now, Ruby got a sense of nostalgia from the chirping birds, blue skies, tall trees, and collection of green shrubbery. She and Raven used to play hide-and-seek in the forest. Back then, Ruby was small enough to fit inside this massive hollowed-out log, and that was where she hid almost every time. Ruby knew most of her wins were out of pity from her sister, but she still had so much fun playing the games.

"Okay, where should we go first?" Ginger asked. Ruby glanced around, and noticed a small path overgrown by soft, spongy moss. She pointed to it eagerly.

"Let's go that way, there's a sort of path. Oh, and I can even see a candy wrapper!" Ruby nodded to what appeared to be a Snickers wrapper a couple meters down the path.

"Dibs!" Josh yelled, and sprinted towards it.

Oh no you don't. Ruby shoved him aside and ran towards it, concentrating on pushing her leg muscles as far as they could go. Ruby remembered her track training. Keep your head down for the first five seconds, then look up. You'll get a boost of speed from that, but only do it if you're sprinting, not for long-distance running. Then it'll tire you out.

Apparently Josh knew that too, because in one swift movement, he leaned down and snatched the wrapper.

"Haha! I got it! I'm faster than you. You're dogwater, you're literally dogwater." Josh taunted, throwing it into his bag with a smirk on his face.

Ruby panted and fell on the floor. "How *gasp* are you *pant* so...fast?!" She asked, exhausted. She rolled over on the ground and sat up to tie her long red hair into a messy bun on the back of her head. She was wearing checkered shorts and a red tube top, along with her signature black boots and leather jacket. Her earrings were simple gold studs.

"I'm on the track team, and have been for five years. And I've been playing soccer since before I could walk." Josh said proudly. The soccer part was obvious, considering he was wearing a yellow 'Lakeview Bees' shirt.

Ruby groaned and stood up. "You could've told me that. I only play lacrosse. Which I thought would be enough to beat you, but apparently not."

Ginger, who'd been hanging in the back, did a leap and a twirl, landing right behind a scrap of shiny aluminum foil. She picked it up gingerly (haha) with the tips of her gloved fingers, and chucked it in the black garbage can. She wiped her hands on her plaid gray-and-white button-up, which was unbuttoned over a teal tee with a rhinestone heart on the pocket.

"Hey, wait up!" Tulisa jogged back over to Ruby and the rest of them.

The five teens gathered trash along the somewhat-path, going further and further from the actual path. It was almost like the legend of Persephone, how a trail of something can lead you to danger. For her, it was flowers that led her to Hades. And for Ruby and her friends, it was trash that led them someplace that should have been left forgotten.

Ruby, after a heated discussion about pineapple on pizza (Ruby and Olive loved it, Tulisa and Ginger were against it, and Josh was somewhat in the middle), noticed a shiny object reflecting into the sun a good distance away from the 'path'. She ran over to it. A shiny aluminum pop can, for 'Bubly'. Ruby shrugged and chucked it into her bag.

She looked up ahead. Another gleam? She ran over to investigate it.

"Hey, guys, there's a ton of trash over here!" She yelled. The rest of the group dashed over.

"Holy crap. Why's there so much?" Olive asked in shock. Indeed, there was a ton, and it seemed to leave a trail. Ruby and her friends, however, didn't seem to notice the fact that it looked like a trail, and followed it.

Tulisa was the first to notice. "Um, guys?"

Ruby picked up a dirty plastic bag. "What?"

"You might wanna check this out…"

Ruby threw it into the large black garbage bag and followed the rest of her friends to where Tulisa was staring past a bush.

"What is it- oh. Uhhhh…"

There was a cabin sitting there. Well, it looked too small to be a cabin. Maybe more like a shed. It was made of wood and was overgrown with moss, vines, shrubs, and other types of vegetation. It was littered with graffiti, and the door was coated in rust. Bugs crawled in and out of it, and it's faded windows were boarded up with planks and rusty nails.

"Creepy," Josh muttered.

A flock of birds flew above them, chirping merrily.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go in!" Ruby leaped over the bush and was promptly dragged back by Olive.

"No way. You aren't going in there."

Ruby scowled. "Why not? What if there's something cool in there? Like a ghost?"

Ginger shook her head. "No way. It looks super unstable, and it looks kind of sketchy. No, not just kind of sketchy, really sketchy. There's probably murderers in there. Or illegal drug dealers. Or other criminals."

"I think you're just scared of the ghosties." Ruby teased, and with that, shook Olive off and leaped over the bush, running for the cabin.

"We should probably follow her," Tulisa said, with Josh following his sister.

The roar of an airplane flying overhead broke the silence. Olive and Ginger watched it fly by until it disappeared into a fluffy white cloud. Olive glanced apologetically at their friend and ran to go follow the twins.

Ginger looked nervously around. There was a rustling in the leaves above her. What if a creature dropped on her? Like a crow, or a bat. Or what if a swarm of wasps attacked her? Then she'd be all alone. And what if someone kidnapped her and threw her in their white van? Nobody would hear her scream.

Ginger made up her mind.

"Wait up!" She yelled, and dashed over to the suspicious house.

It was dark. And cold. And wet. And sort of smelled like feet.

Ruby shook her cell phone and the flashlight came on. Josh, Tulisa, and Olive did the same, however Ginger didn't have a phone, so she stuck with Olive.

"This place is a dump," Josh said scornfully. And it was true. There were cobwebs everywhere, broken furniture, and old, faded tennis balls lay on the floor.

Tulisa did an experimental tap on a creaky board on the wall, and with a crash, it fell down. She jumped and quickly assumed a different position, whistling innocently.

Olive leaned down and picked up what looked like a piece of paper. They brushed off the dust and gasped. "Look at this!" They called.

Ruby, Tulisa, Josh, and Ginger crowded around them. They held the photo higher so that everyone could see.

It appeared to be burnt, but Ruby could make out a man in a suit, and a girl with thick wavy blonde hair in an oversized white button-up. Their faces were burnt out. The photo itself was yellowed, ripped, and faded, and looked to be a Polaroid.

Olive flipped it over. It read, in cursive purple pen, 'I made the right decision. I gave her the-' this part was burnt out, '-together. I just hope she'll stay. She's all I have left. Signed,' the rest was scratched out. The photo's date was 2007.

"Aw. That sounds sad. I bet the girl's mom ran away or died or something." Tulisa guessed.

Olive nodded, and carefully set the drawing back down on a desk. Ruby examined the desk. It appeared to be cedar wood, and it was covered in dust. Ruby brushed off the desk and sneezed when the dust clouded the air.

A drawer. She pulled it open. Inside was a child's drawing of a cat, made with thick brown crayons, and a small wooden carving of an owl. The drawing was labeled 'KAT'.

Ruby laughed softly to herself. She had a piece of artwork like that at home, only it was blue and labeled 'ROOBI'. Ruby was quite a good speller when she was little. *sarcasm*

She traced the owl with her finger. It was smooth and sleek. And then she pressed down on it as if it was a button. Of course, she didn't expect it to actually act as a button.

Click.

Tulisa and Ginger had been inspecting an intricately carved fireplace when suddenly it slowly moved downwards into the floor. Tulisa yelped and dashed away, surprised by the sudden unnatural movement. The fireplace lowered down creakily, revealing a set of stairs that led down and down into darkness.

"Um." Olive cleared their throat.

"Ruby, what did you do?" Tulisa asked nervously.

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know! I just... oh. I pressed down on this little owl carving and it clicked. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Without waiting to hear the other's objections, she skipped merrily down the stairs. The other's glanced at each other, shrugged, and followed her down.

Ruby came to a halt at a rusty red door. She tried the handle. Locked. She tried her foot. Unlocked!

"Woooah."

The room was lit up by a dim lantern that was somehow still burning, which gave it a sort of old-timey vibe to it. There were two separate beds, well, more like cots on the left side of the room. On the right side, there was a desk and two doors. Papers littered the floor. Ruby leaned down and picked one up.

Day 34

It works. It actually works! After months of failed experiments, it finally works! I tried the red serum on myself, and I saw her! Now she's trapped inside the marionette, but no worries. I can keep her at the pizzeria until my home is ready. I'm so excited. I'm sure Michael will warm up to her eventually. I have yet to try the blue serum, but I know just who to test it on. More later.

Day 36

I injected it yesterday when he was sleeping. It takes 24 hours to complete, so I waited till today. Then I took my knife and stabbed him while he was asleep. I know it's risky, but if it works, then I won't lose another! I'm at his bedside waiting. Oh, he's woken up! This is fantastic! Got to go now.

Day 48

He's dead. Henry is dead. I don't know what to do. God help me.

Day 50

I tested the blue serum on myself today. I can't die. I can't, I can't, I can't. He won't die, she won't die...there is only one thing left to do.

Day 54

Someone found out. It's okay though. Just another addition to my happy family. She's my favourite. I gave her the red serum, but I will not give her the blue serum. It does not agree with her blood type. It's a shame. I'll have to contain her sometime.

Day 102

I got groceries today. Charlie likes apples. I don't. I'm allergic. So we got oranges instead. She hated oranges...we had a bad day.

Day 436

Freddy likes to sing. He doesn't sing with me though. That's rude.

Day 780

They took him away. That's okay. He didn't like us anyways.

Day 1002

Everything has gone wrong. She left me. I can't find her. The public will find her. I'll never see her again. And I didn't even get to contain her…

Day 1003

I visited her today, in disguise, and she must have blocked the memories out. She'll only know some basic information. Good thing I got rid of the evidence.

Day 1012

They know.

Ruby gasped and dropped the sheet of paper. Who wrote this? Who would do something like that? Was this the same man in the picture? What was even going on? Questions flew through Ruby's head.

There was a loud crash and Ruby spun around. Olive had yanked open one of the doors. She ran to go check out what was inside.

"Woah."

It was just a dark room. Nothing too special. But there were stacks and stacks of newspapers lining the walls and floor. The headliner wasn't anything special, just something about a local soccer team winning some games. Ruby couldn't tell why the person who owned this house had them, unless they just really liked soccer, but she grabbed one and stuffed it in her garbage bag for safekeeping.

But what really made the room scary was the tall, thin robot endoskeleton stuffed behind a curtain.

"Hey, check out this creepy-ass robot thingy! Why is that here?" Olive laughed, poking its side.

Ruby felt a chill run up her spine. "I don't know. I really don't think we should be here, Ol." The whole place, from the dim lighting to the suspicious notes to the endoskeleton that was so obviously made for an animatronic made this place...well, terrifying.

Olive snorted. "What, are you scared of the ghosties? Come on- hey, are you okay?"

Ruby had backed into a corner, pointing to something Olive couldn't see.

There was a small boy, about five, in the top right corner of the room. He had curly brown hair and a round face. His body glowed blue. He was playing with two Cool Wheels cars, one blue and one red, smashing them together repeatedly.

"Who- who is that?"

Olive whirled around. "Who is what? There's nothing there." They sounded genuinely confused.

Ruby slowly moved closer. "Um, hi. What- how did you get here?" She asked tentatively.

The boy turned to her, blinked, and went back to his cars, ignoring her.

"What's your name? I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Ruby said.

The boy looked at her warily. "Malcolm. And I'm not 'posed to talk to strangers. Go away." He made brrr sounds with his lips, driving the cars around off little wooden jumps.

"Hey, you good? Is there a spider there or something?" Olive pressed.

"You shouldn't be here. He's got an alarm system." Malcolm said calmly, grabbing a little Lega man and stuffing him in the driver's seat of the red car.

Ruby stood up abruptly. "Okay, we need to go. Can you come with us?"

"Can't. My soul is trapped here, at least that's what he told me."

What? Soul? Is this kid a ghost? No way. Ghosts didn't exist. But it did make sense. From what Ruby gathered, this place was inhabited by a crazy serial killer. What if Malcolm was one of the kids he'd killed?

No. It didn't make sense.

Ruby shook her head. "Is there any way to get you out?"

Malcolm shrugged. "I dunno. I thought you'd know."

Ruby smiled a little. She remembered when she was young, and thought that the big kids knew the answers to everything. Now, she knew that wasn't even close to the truth.

"I don't. I'm sorry. Can you tell us what the alarm system is?"

Malcolm drove a car up the wall. "You'll see soon. Pretty sure you have... twenty."

"Twenty minutes?"

"Twenty seconds."

Ruby gasped and grabbed Olive's arm. "Olive, we need to get out of here. Now."

Olive shook their arm out of Ruby's grasp. "What? No way. Did the spider tell you that?"

"I'm serious, Ol, we've got to leave. This place has an alarm system." Ruby tried to tug Olive out again, but they held firm.

Olive snorted. "So what? It probably doesn't even work. This place is like, eighty years old. I bet it wouldn't- OH JEEZ!"

The creepy robot endoskeleton they'd been inspecting twitched. And then it's bright blue eyes lit up and it tore the faded light red curtain down with a strange metallic screeching sound that made the hairs on Ruby's arm stand on end. And yet...it almost sounded like...a song? Before Ruby could question this, the robot started to menacingly move towards them, with outstretched arms and chomping teeth.

"GOGOGOGOGO!" Ruby flung the door open and they both sped out as fast as they could run.

Josh, Tulisa, and Ginger were all inspecting different corners of the room when they burst in.

"Leave. Now. Robot. Alarm." Ruby managed to get out before the robot slashed through the door.

Ruby noticed a small chest of drawers on the other side of the room. She grabbed it and dragged it to the door, and with Olive's help, pushed it in front of the door.

"Phew. Now, we should be- AHHH WHAT THE HECK."

And then, with a slam, the exit door swung shut. Five equally weird-sounding robots sped out from the other door. Tulisa yelped and jumped back.

"THERE'S MORE?! WHY ARE THERE MORE?!" Josh yelled as they ducked behind a corner to breathe.

"I don't know, but keep it down!" Ruby hissed. This was just great. They were trapped in a serial killer's bunker, underground, in the middle of the woods, with six or possibly more killer robots trying to kill them! She'd fought robots before, but then, she had the help of five other killer robots, and the things they were fighting were also old, dumb, piles of scrap. These robots seemed sleeker, smarter. How were they going to get out of this?

Suddenly, she felt a tug at her sleeve. Ruby looked down and saw Malcolm. "Hey buddy. Do you know how to get out of here? We're kind of in trouble, as you can see."

Tulisa glanced over at Ruby. "Who's there? Who are you talking to?"

"Don't bother. I asked her that earlier. I think she's just insane in the membrane." Olive tapped the side of their head and went cross-eyed.

"Yeah, I know the way. I'm surprised you don't remember it. You built it." Malcolm smashed his cars together.

Ruby was starting to get annoyed. "Kid, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't build any of this, heck, I've never been down here." She took a breath. "Sorry. Can you please show us the way out?"

Malcolm stuffed his cars in his pocket. "Sure. Follow me."

Ruby leaned over to her friends. "C'mon. Just follow me."

Her friends shrugged and followed her. Ginger looked suspicious, but still came with them. They were careful not to make a sound, so as to not alert the robots.

Malcolm ducked behind a nearby bookshelf and pressed a small red button. "You're going to hafta be fast about it. Don't want the robots escaping too." He made himself comfortable on the floor and started to drive his cars again.

"Hey, Malcolm?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

Ruby searched her head for something to say.

"I'll come back for you. If I ever find a way to."

Malcolm grinned. "Okay. Oh, I have a sister, Jojo. If you could tell her I'm okay, that would be great."

Ruby smiled sadly. "I'll try my best. Goodbye, Malcolm."

"Bye Ruby!"

It was only after they'd left that Ruby realized she'd never told him her name.